


put it in a water cup for me

by ofcomputernerdsandsoufflegirls



Series: (not so) daily damerey [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bars and Pubs, F/M, Poe's a bartender, Rey's a first grade teacher
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-01-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:28:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22161064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ofcomputernerdsandsoufflegirls/pseuds/ofcomputernerdsandsoufflegirls
Summary: Rey Skywalker really hated being in bars. It was always loud; it always was crowded. It always smelled musty with fresh cigarette smoke and sex lingered in the air (why anyone would have sex here in this place baffled her completely). She felt so out of place there, not knowing what to do (besides drinking of course) and she very much disliked the amount of attention that men gave to her.
Relationships: Finn & Rey & Rose Tico, Finn & Rey (Star Wars), Finn/Rose Tico, Poe Dameron/Rey, Rey & Rose Tico
Series: (not so) daily damerey [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1595158
Comments: 4
Kudos: 59
Collections: Damerey Daily 2020





	put it in a water cup for me

**Author's Note:**

> for day 3 of damerey daily! 
> 
> prompt: 'Um… I’m gonna need vodka in a water glass, with ice, and I’m gonna be ordering ‘water’ from you all night long so… one… ‘water,’ please.'

Rey Skywalker really hated being in bars. It was always loud; it always was crowded. It always smelled musty with fresh cigarette smoke and sex lingered in the air (why anyone would have sex here in this place baffled her completely). She felt so out of place there, not knowing what to do (besides drinking of course) and she very much disliked the amount of attention that men gave to her. 

Her loyal two best friends (and married couple), Finn and Rose Tico, had invited her out as it was an office work party for the company that Finn worked for, the First Order, a law firm that was notorious for its wins in every case. (How they did that was beyond her and it seemed quite suspicious, even to Finn who worked there. She even tried to question her cousin, Ben Solo, who also worked there as a highly respected lawyer, but he wouldn’t give her any answers.)

“C’mon Rey, you gotta come with us,” Finn begged her over the phone.

“No thank you. You know I hate bars,” she responded as she gathered up all the papers she needed to grade. First grade tests weren’t going to grade themselves and she had a whole entire plan to binge watch  _ The Good Place _ while grading her papers.

“C’mon peanut! You gotta come! It won’t be as fun without you!” 

“My answer is still no,” she answered firmly. 

“Rey,” Rose piped up over the phone playfully, and Rey could only imagine there was a mischievous glint in her eyes as well with the way she was talking. “There’s gonna be free booze!” 

“She can only get one!” Finn insisted in the background. “Remember when she drank last time? After six drinks, she almost killed a guy!” As much as she knew Finn was joking, killed a guy was too much of an exaggeration. It was more like she pummeled the guy after he tried to touch her on her thigh. (And he slapped them on the face afterwards) He did have a point though, she went sort of crazy after three drinks. 

“Hush, she didn’t kill a guy. She was just defending herself. And you slapped the guy afterwards remember? C’mon Rey, we haven’t seen you in forever! The last time was what, three weeks ago?” Rose asked her.

“One week ago,” Rey corrected her. 

“But it feels like it’s been forever!” Rose groaned dramatically. Rey smiled at her friend’s faux-dramatic nature. As much as she wanted to get grading over and done with, she wanted to see her friends more. Going to a bar couldn’t be that bad. 

“Fine. I’m coming. But only for the drinks!” Rey told them, which was then followed by loud cheering.

She sighed. What a big mistake coming here was. As much as she loved her friends, and the one drink Finn permitted her to have, she wasn’t really enjoying the atmosphere. And Rose seemed to pick up on it, twenty minutes in. 

“Not having fun are you?” she asked. 

“Nope!” Rey responded, emphasizing on the ‘p’, as she swooshed her drink around. “It smells disgusting and I don’t have enough liquor in me.” 

“I know, it does smell gross here,” Rose agreed, taking a sip of the scotch in her cup. “But we have to endure it, for Finn.” Rey nodded. This was the first time Finn was invited to any of the First Order Parties and although he was skeptical about his co-workers, he wanted to make a good impression on them. And because of that, that meant he brought along his wife and best friend for back-up. 

“Who chose the place anyways?” she grumbled, out of annoyance for the place and how she couldn’t get more alcohol. 

“I heard it was Hux,” Rose said, gesturing toward a tall, red-headed man who Finn was chatting with. He looked very uptight and probably not the greatest conversationalist based on Finn’s look of boredom. “He’s the guy that Finn’s been wanting to punch since day one.” 

“That’s him?” 

“Yep. Apparently he’s worse in the office.” 

“Oh aren’t we lucky he’s not that way now,” Rey said sarcastically before taking the last few sips of her drink. Rose giggled beside her and Rey gave a faint smile at her friend. A man, who was standing a few feet behind where they were sitting, winked immediately with a cocky smile right after she smiled at Rose. Rey’s eyes widened as she realized he must’ve thought that she was smiling at him. 

She scowled. How was she going to survive through this night without smashing her head against the wall because of idiots like him? 

“What-” Rose followed her where her eyes landed. “Oh yep, I understand why you’re doing that.” 

“Oh the Maker,” Rey muttered as the man started to come over to approach her. “How do I avoid him, while also simultaneously forgetting I’m in this hellhole?” 

“You can always go up to the bar, ask them for vodka in a water cup,” Rose suggested as the man got closer. “That way it looks like you’re getting a drink, looking like you’re not drinking, and also avoiding that guy and Finn’s wrath at the same time.” 

“Blimey where’d you get that idea?” 

Rose shrugged. “I use that all the time with my family. It’s great when your aunts and grandmas are pestering you about future children.” 

“Finn doesn’t even notice it? Wait never mind, tell me later,” Rey told her as the man was a foot away and she slipped out of the booth they were sitting at, heading towards the bar. She could feel that man’s gaze on her as she walked past him, making her feel uncomfortable with him eyeing her. 

When she had reached the bar, the bartender’s back was to her, cleaning glasses with a small, white washcloth. “Hey,” she said, trying to catch the man’s attention. Her effort didn’t work, with the rest of the bar being way too loud for him to hear. People were shouting and the music was blaring, making her own ears ring as she tried once more. 

“Hello? Hey! Bartender?” Rey yelled out and finally after a good two minutes, the bartender finally turned around. And by stars, he was handsome. And familiar. 

It was that bartender from the Resistance, Finn and Rose’s favorite bar. She had only visited the Resistance a couple of times, still not really enjoying the bar scene but accompanying her friends on their nights out. And even though she didn’t go to the Resistance that often, she somehow developed a massive crush on the good looking bartender there even though she never talked to him (whenever she went with her friends, Finn and Rose alternated in ordering so that at least two of them could save a booth in the bar and keep her company). From what she saw, he was kind and very friendly, drawing customers’ attention from the moment he spoke. Plus Finn and Rose loved him, saying he was the hottest bartender to exist in the galaxy.

“Hi,” she finally breathed out, her breath seemingly stuck in her throat. Rey wondered if the man recognized her. 

“Hi,” the bartender repeated, a smile lacing his face. She studied his face, noting the sincerity in his expression. And then she somehow found herself looking into his eyes and stars, his eyes were gorgeous. They could have been standing like that for hours, Rey reckoned, but then the bartender asked her, “You’re Finn and Rose’s friend right?” 

So he did remember. “Yes I am.” 

“I’m Poe. Poe Dameron,” he introduced himself, his hand outstretched over the dirty bar top. 

She glanced down at his hand, and she took with a smile. “I’m Rey. Rey Skywalker.” 

“I know,” he told her, still holding onto her hand. This gesture of just holding hands made her stomach flutter a little bit. “Finn and Rose talk about you a lot.” 

They finally let go of each others’ hands (how long were they even holding onto each other?) and Rey responded, “Good things I should hope.” 

“Yeah. They said you were the best.” 

“They say the same about you,” she told him. “So what are you doing here? Don’t you work at the Resistance?” 

“Yeah but I’m doing reconnaissance for the Resistance. Gotta go see how the other bars are faring in relation to our own,” Poe said, a serious look lacing his features. Rey was confused from this (bars did this?) and her confusion must’ve been apparent to Poe. “I’m kidding. I work here two days out of the week so I can make more money and the other days I’m at the Resistance. By the way, what can I get you?” 

“Um, I’m gonna need vodka in a water glass, and I’m gonna be ordering ‘water’ from you all night, so one ‘water’ please.” 

This got a raised eyebrow from Poe, but he still pulled out a water glass and opened up a bottle of vodka. “That bad huh?” 

“Extremely.”

“Mind me asking why you need vodka in a water glass?” he asked her as he poured the alcohol into the cup. 

“Finn prohibited me from getting more than one drink,” she explained. “He’s afraid that I’m going to pull some stupid shit while I’m drunk.” 

“You mean you almost killing a guy?” Poe set the cup in front of her and she immediately took a swig of the drink, relishing the burn that went down her throat. 

She rolled her eyes. “He told you that?” Poe nodded his head and internally Rey groaned. Why did Finn have to tell this extremely good looking man and make her look like an almost murdered? “I did not ‘almost kill a man’ as Finn likes to put it. He was joking. I pummeled him for touching me. And for the record, Finn slapped the guy too.” 

Poe chuckled. “I figured that much. There’s way too many sleazy guys in bars. But it’s cool though.” 

“Cool?” Rey raised her eyebrow. 

“Yeah, it’s cool that you decided to take none of his bullshit and decided to stand up for yourself. It’s admirable,” Poe answered as he threw a washcloth over his shoulder. Rey felt her cheeks heat up at his compliment. She wasn’t used to compliments, especially since it was a comment over her beating someone up. 

“Thanks,” she said to him, grasping the drink in her hand. 

“You’re welcome.” They stood like that for a few moments, separated by the bar counter, until someone else called for Poe’s attention. He gave her a regretful look and all she could do was nod back before he turned to help whoever wanted a drink. 

Well. That was something, she mused as headed back to the booth. She could only think about the way he smiled, both with his eyes and his mouth and how kind his words were. The way he bit his lip as he stared at her. 

So maybe coming to the bar wasn’t a bad thing after all. 

* * *

+1

“So,” Rose said suggestively as Rey moved to sit down. “You seemed to take a long while to get your ‘water’.” 

“It wasn’t that long,” Rey insisted, even though she wanted it to last longer. 

“What took you so long?” her friend asked, completely disregarding her statement from just a moment earlier. 

“I was just talking to Poe.” 

“Poe? You mean Poe, the bartender from Resistance and the guy you have a major crush on?” Rey started to sputter, her cheeks flaming (how’d Rose even know, it wasn’t like she told her or Finn  anything) and it was enough confirmation for Rose to stand up in the booth to get a glance at the bar. “I didn’t know he worked here.” 

“He works here two days out of the week. How-” she paused, choosing her words carefully. "I mean what, made you think I had a crush on him?” 

“I’ve never seen you look at anyone else the way you look at him,” Rose admitted. So, she was that obvious. “It’s not bad,” she continued on, sensing her discomfort. Rose patted her on the shoulder. “Poe’s a good man.” 


End file.
